The Underground Water Resources of New South Wales

Abstract

Groundwater may be regarded as one of the most important minerals that the State of New South Wales possesses because its availability in adequate quantities contributes so largely to the conduct of the “ man on the land ” and the growth of secondary industry, especially in areas of relatively low rainfall where conservation of surface waters is fraught with much difficulty. In the past there has been a tendency to lay particular stress upon the value of artesian water by reason of the large flows obtained from individual bores but there can be no doubt that sub-artesian water is of infinitely greater importance to the State as a whole because it is distributed far more widely and this serves the needs of a much larger area and population. Rocks of many types throughout the State are more or less water-bearing but the most favourable are those which are the most porous such as deposits of sand and gravel occupying present stream valleys and ancient channels buried under lava flows, extensive sand beds at various levels under the Western Plains, sand dunes and deltas along the coast, sandstone formations outcropping on the North-Western slopes and present at depth in the Great Artesian Basin, together with older sandstone and quartzites of the Central and Western Divisions. Lavas furnish adequate yields in some areas but generally shales and granite offer attractive prospects only in zones where the rainfall and structures are suitable.